About
Professor Jennifer Koh is an Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law. She specializes in immigration law, criminal law, and the intersection of Christianity and social justice. Her research examines the convergence of immigration enforcement and criminal legal systems, focusing on deportation procedures and federal court treatment of immigration claims. Koh teaches courses including Immigration Law, Criminal Law, and Evidence. She has held visiting faculty positions at UC Irvine and University of Washington Law Schools and began her teaching career at Stanford Law School.
Education: J.D. from Columbia Law School (2001), B.A. from Yale University (1998). Prior to academia, she clerked for Judge Eugene H. Nickerson of the Eastern District of New York, directed a community lawyering project at Sanctuary for Families, and practiced litigation at WilmerHale.
Research interests include the legal frameworks governing deportation, streamlined removal processes outside immigration courts, and the role of faith-based communities in addressing immigration issues. She has contributed to high-impact journals like the Yale Law Journal and Stanford Law Review, with her scholarship cited by federal courts including the U.S. Supreme Court.
Awards include the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association’s Attorney of the Year and Chapman University’s Ethnic Studies Award. She serves on boards including the Orange County Justice Fund and Seong Gwang Educational Foundation. Her advocacy extends to nonprofits supporting immigrant communities and advancing social justice for underserved populations.
Notable contributions include critiques of 'shadow removals' in immigration courts and analyses of state standing theories in immigration litigation. Her work bridges legal scholarship with practical advocacy, emphasizing pedagogical approaches that integrate clinical representation with systemic reform efforts.
